Heuani
Heuani was a Toa of Shadow and a high-ranking minion of Makuta. Cunning and charismatic, he used a combination of guile and brute force to aid Makuta in his efforts to dominate the island. History Heuani was once the Toa Mata of Ice, Kopaka. When it came time to defeat Makuta, however, he gave in to the Master of Shadows' manipulations and betrayed his brothers out of jealousy (and desire for Gali). Makuta then transformed Heuani into his new lieutenant, granting him his Shadow powers, his beautiful physique, and his unique flamberge - and the object of his desire. Heuani was first revealed in a search for six mysterious objects of power that were stolen from Makuta, where he commanded Rahkshi to scour the island. To this end, he completed the elimination of the Chronicler's Company, personally snapping Kapura's neck. On this search, he also had his first encounter with Hiemalis in Ta-Koro. Heuani was next seen in the Turaga Kidnappings, where he either personally or through Rahi abducted all six Turaga. He thereafter brought them to Makuta, and witnessed their bonding with the Parakuka. During the Rama Hive attack, Heuani commanded the forces of Rama from on top of the hive, and also engaged certain members of the Island Liberation Squad in personal combat. He would later, in conjunction with Echelon, rally an army to assault the Squad at Pala-Koro, their base of operations. When Echelon attempted to gain an audience with Makuta after their forces' success, he was instead greeted by Heuani, who had not forgotten nor forgiven Echelon's ploy with the Mark Bearers. He transported the Toa of Magnetism into Mangaia (beating him with brutal shadow-strikes), where he used a Kraata to infect Echelon's mask as a way of keeping the Necromancer in check. Heuani involved himself in the Wanderer's Company's quest to find the Essence Stones and the Keeping Place, particularly interfering with Joske's accompanying search for the Crystals. He toyed with the Toa of Fire, even giving him the Crystal of Creation as an example of how confident he was that Joske would fail. Later on, as Joske was retrieving the Crystal of Purity from Lake Naho, Cael made a fateful decision: she loved Joske so deeply that she was willing to sacrifice herself if that was what it took to keep him safe. So she stole away to Kini-Nui, where Heuani met her. She made her offer: herself, in exchange for Joske's safety. Heuani accepted. He took Cael down to his lair in Mangaia, where he used and then murdered her - of course, he had no intention of keeping his promise. When Joske reached the Keeping Place, Heuani managed to follow him, confronting the Toa of Fire (who had just received a Mask of Conjuring). The two began to duel, with Heuani taunting Joske over Cael's sacrifice, showing the Toa of Fire her mask as a trophy. Overwhelmed with grief, this prompted Joske to use his new mask in an unprecedented way, transforming himself into a Toa of Light. This very much evened the playing field between the two, and their battle became so fierce that the Keeping Place ejected them for its own safety. Back at the Kini-Nui, Heuani and Joske continued their fight; but it was only a matter of time before Joske's Light overcame Heuani's Shadow. Joske chose to spare his opponent's life, and the Dark Toa took the opportunity to use what remained of his elemental powers and shadow-jump away. Makuta healed Heuani's wounds, and revealed to the Toa that his fellow Toa Mata had been transformed to Shadow Toa as well. Heuani was enamored with the recently transformed Gali, now called Reka, who shrugged off his advances. The six were sent out to fight the Toa Maru who had entered Mangaia, and the two Toa teams fought furiously. The Maru won, in the end, defeating the Shadow Toa fairly. However, the battle did not end without casualties. Vassus (formerly Pohatu) died when a last-ditch attempt to backstab Korero backfired and he was impaled by his own shadow-powers. At the same time, Oreius used the enhanced strength granted by activating Inu, the Parakuka, to beat Reka, but lost control in his feral state, and seemingly murdered the Toa of Shadow. As his old team-mates fell one by one, Heuani continued the fight with Stannis, but soon found himself faced with the entire team of Toa Maru. His determination to see the fight through to the bitter only wavered when Leah called him out on the fact that his corruption was costing him everything, even the love of his life. Distraught and beaten, an injured Heuani fled with Reka's body. Escaping to the jungle near the Kini-Nui, Heauni walked until he could go no further. He collapsed on the the ground, and killed a small group of traveling Matoran that spotted him by accident. The commotion drew the attention of Joske and a recently revived Cael. After reflecting on his life, Heuani realized that Reka was not dead yet, but merely unconscious due to her severe injuries. Nevertheless, her remaining energy was running out quickly. Going against his own nature, Heauni pleaded with Cael to place his own Kanohi on Reka's face to save her. Reluctantly, the Toa of Water did so. Reka, rejuvenated by the new mask, started to heal, using her shadow-powers to mend her wounds, while Heuani grew weaker. With their roles now reversed, they shared one last passionate kiss, which Reka used to kill Heuani with his own powers as the final price for his betrayal. Heuani was consumed by his own shadows, leaving nothing but his unusual flamberge. Appearance and Tools Heuani was a lean, black-armored Toa who wore a Kanohi Felnas, the Mask of Disruption. His appearance was highly attractive. He carried a ripple-bladed sword (flamberge) that he used for melee combat. Abilities and Traits As a Toa of Shadow, Heuani could create, absorb and manipulate shadows around him. Shadow could manifest as black bolts of lightning, waves of dark energy and black moving tendrils and shapes that appeared solid whenever the he willed them to. Heuani cuold also "melt" away into a shadow, and reappear from another, regardless of distance. This form of shadow teleportation meant that Heuani could essentially appear anywhere he pleased, so long as there were shadows for him to jump to. In addition to his Toa powers, Heuani was also given command over Makuta's Rahi and Rahkshi. As an individual, Heuani was seductive. He was alluring in body, voice, and intellect - all beings were irresistibly drawn to please and favour him when they were in his presence. Heuani's deeper personality, though, was constantly shrouded; Heuani did not share secrets with anyone. All that could be clearly seen is that he loved power, and was vain. When Heuani became angry, his wrath was cold. He had a talent for knowing where to strike his enemies physically and emotionally in order to inflict the most damage. Heuani preferred to best an opponent without raising his own blade, but he was not a coward, and would never shirk from a duel. Relationships Allies *Makuta *Other Shadow Toa Enemies *Anyone not loyal to Makuta. Quotes "You call me a lap dog, a puppet, a pet. An adorable attempt, really. While I always love nicknames, inaccurate ones never stick... for I am no pet, but a master. I am the one who has pets, my own little dogs on leashes, who I can play with or tie up to trees whenever I want, who know how to do nothing but fawn on me, adore me, lick me with their thoughtless tongues. I of all people know of pets, and I know that I am not one." "I am beautiful; you can feel it. I feel you shudder in anticipation at my touch. It is natural, and you must think no less of yourself for it. Most beings of weaker mettle are already trying to devour me, at this point." "You bored me. Next time, I'll pick somebody who has a vocabulary." "To ignore fear is not an admirable act. It's a stupid one; it's ignoring natural impulse. Fight or flight is instinctual for a reason - when your body tells you to run, it's being smarter than you are. I find that I lead a much more successful and fulfilling life by following my own impulses. Shame that it's too late for you to follow yours." "No more unlicensed portraits." Literary Analysis http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=121&page=983#entry515197 Category:Toa Category:Staff characters Category:Dark Toa Category:Deceased Category:Characters